The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and distinctive moments – not its most important, nor most harsh, nor most threatening, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – emerged earlier this harvest season. During the period of multiple weeks, the American president began displaying all observers his intentions for a gilded ballroom twice the size of the White House and then began independently demolishing the East Wing to build it.
He has done things countless times more severe – the existing assessment of fatalities due to his slashing to USAID amounts to 600,000 and growing, and recently an analysis projected his petroleum strategies would cause deaths an additional 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No previous president would have dared – genuinely, no other president would have contemplated – unilaterally destroying large sections of the presidential residence in order to erect a Versailles-style party room, with the enthusiastic participation of numerous the richest Americans, the majority of whom conduct transactions with the government.
We moved from 'the meek shall inherit the world' to 'the gentle will succumb to cholera'
As disorienting as it is to witness the leader try to upend the old idea about democracy and exchange it with its complete opposite, there remains a substantial portion within America who wouldn't consider it entirely new. That is those of us – among senior generations close to half – who were educated within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have witnessed throughout the years while conservative evangelical congregations turned the Jesus we were raised with into exactly the opposite of our perception of his character. At its most basic, they turned a figure of compassion into a symbol of hostility who approves exactly the harshness that he criticized in biblical teachings; this has happened more gradually, through multiple decades as opposed to months, however it is still disconcerting through similar means, a confusing personal impact for numerous individuals.
A Toxic Christianity Gains Ground
So let me first describe the Jesus from my childhood, as conceptually the Savior is the core of any Christian faith, and given that the rapidly expanding group within America might have little sense about him as they consider themselves skeptics or doubters or religiously unaffiliated. I take no issue with these different approaches, nor with alternative spiritual paths; but I do think that there are pearls of substantial value in the Christian story.
It is unquestionably definitely not the account of a powerful ruler arising; conversely, a child comes into the world to parents without shelter in a storage space, who must quickly flee to a foreign land to escape undercover officers. The child matures in humble circumstances, an employed craftsman; his doctrine concerns compassion for other people, specifically for the disadvantaged – not merely emotional affection, but tangible care, shown by providing food and protecting. Christ's response to violence is to present the opposite cheek – not as an act of submissive tolerance, but as a means to educate the attacker; his approach to wrongdoing is that if a person pilfers your outer garment you should give him your sweater as well.
The apparent and clear reality that the Savior of the gospels requests a kind of extreme compassion centered on the poor has consistently rendered the Christian faith rather a controversial faith: appealing to the general public, but because of its natural unconventionality demanding to be controlled. During the 1950s it was contained by dilution – Protestant Christianity was so widespread that it essentially baptized the status quo.
A Struggle for the Finest of Us
Therefore I have felt inspired to observe the determined opposition against Trump emerge during the previous year. It has been great solace to assist in constructing the initiative that has protested openly via continuous gatherings, and likely has encouraged citizens to participate in numbers in the off-year elections. We will need to continue it, and in the same spirit, with American flags throughout each rally and appeals to the best parts in US history.
We shall be interrogated ... regarding how you welcomed the immigrant? Did you welcome them and embrace them or not?
The country is optimally secured, essentially, through connection to the best about American history, similar to Christianity is optimally secured by relationship to that which renders it unique and wonderful, specifically the model of Christ. In all circumstances does it imply pretending the most damaging of both America and Christianity was nonexistent; it represents both humility and belief, a combination that committed American Christians should be comfortable with.
